In a bizarre adaptation of the television format that made the Apprentice frontman Lord Sugar a household name in Britain and propelled Donald Trump to improbable political credibility in the United States, Mr Kadyrov has called for viewers across Russia to register for the competition to help him “develop the republic.”

“We’re inviting the best people to the republic who want to work to the benefit the people and the Russian Federation,” Mr Kadyrov said in a clip run several times during the first episode of the show on Thursday evening.

Contestants will be expected to have to vision to help plan the “strategic development” of Chechnya, organise lavish big-budget weddings, and show soldierly ability because they “must be ready for anything,” said Mr Kadyrov.

Vladimir Putin meets with Ramzan KadyrovCredit:
EPA

More mundanely, they will need to "be on time, accurately perform assigned tasks and be ready to work 24 hours a day.”

Contestants are encouraged to register online or by phone to take part in the competitive parts of the reality show next month.

Russia’s state-owned Channel 1 broadcast the first episode of “The Team” on Thursday night, firing the starting pistol in what producers hope will be a frantic competition to become the Chechen strongman’s apprentice.

The first episode largely consisted of a reporter following Mr Kadyrov around Chechnya while he held forth on what he would be looking for in his ideal candidate - and much else besides.

He described his views on horse racing, weddings, gender roles (he is, to put it mildly, a traditionalist), and the impact of the assassination of his father, then president of Chechnya Akhmad Kadyrov, by a bomb in 2004.

The show portrayed Mr Kadyrov as a jolly, devoted leader and family man, and studiously avoided addressing the controversies surrounding his rule.

Vladimir Putin made Ramzan Kadyrov de-facto head of Chechnya after his father’s assassination, with an unwritten understanding that he could run the republic as he sees fit as long as he crushed the remnants of a separatist and Islamist insurgency.

In the years since he has emerged as one of the most powerful and feared public figures in Russia, commanding a private army of up to 20,000 men that he has used to crush both the insurgency and political opposition.

While personally loyal to Vladimir Putin, his increasing autonomy and unaccountability has raised concerns among both the Russian opposition and elements within the Federal security forces about his ambitions.